Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc Hands-On, Confirmed Not to Have Android 2.4

I just spent some time over with the folks at the Sony booth who were showing off the newly-announced Xperia Arc, the latest in a lineup of okay phones. The Arc certainly has a lot of promise, being 8.9 mm thin and running Android 2.3 Gingerbread, not 2.4 as previously rumored.

In looking through each of the phones on display, I could find none that offered Android 2.4. Also asking the staff on hand seemed to confirm that there indeed is no version 2.4 available on the Arc, unless it’s still a tightly-wrapped secret.

So with the hands-on time I had with the Xperia Arc, I absolutely loved how thin it was. The curved back (which obviously is why it is named the Arc) certainly made it much easier for me to hold it securely in my hand. Ultimately the design of the Arc looked almost identical to the X10, but was thinner and has a slightly larger 4.2″ screen instead of 4″. Honestly, I think this is what the X10 should have been, considering the Arc has Android 2.3 included and the X10 won’t even get 2.2 Froyo anytime soon.

There’s not much of a difference in the onscreen look, as Sony has chosen to go with the same blue look and the Timescape/Mediascape schtick, but the Timescape has improved, with a spinnable widget on the front screen instead of having a static widget that only shows the latest update in your Timescape.

The camera is 8 MP and also finally includes HD video recording support. Check out our gallery below for all the pics!